I’ve had enough.
I’m tired of the daily, stress-ridden, repetitive water-treading rat race. I’m worn out by the looming deadlines. I’ve sick of climbing ladders, picking competencies, and “playing the game.” Some people have 99 problems? I got all 100, including that particular last one. I have other people’s problems to solve, too.
Most of my day is spent in front of a screen. I’m locked in a box on an uncomfortable chair, and I long for the freedom I see from the window. I need fresh air. I need to be surrounded by trees, not walls.
I need to Escape.
The movie falling down crosses my mind more often than it should on stressful weeks. In the film, Michael Douglas is a tie-and-briefcase drone who snaps and takes out his frustration on the inane, matrix-like mundanity of early 90’s society and crazy-man justice is meted out with bats, uzis and rocket launchers. With today’s identity theft, checked baggage fees, data plans, DRM, DLC, $12 movie tickets, $400 popcorn cups, and traffic light cameras, I’m surprised there isn’t a roving band of copycats sweeping through the nation taking chainsaws to ATMs and burning the Gieco lizard in effigy.
Part of the reason I think we haven’t all gone full fight club is we recognize the value of getting out and taking time for ourselves. There is equity in an active lifestyle and it kick starts our often underutilized senses of proportion and perspective. Getting away from it all is often easier said than done, and it’s for those people that Ford is providing a getaway car, the brand new 2013 Ford Escape.
In San Francisco and, with Alcatraz looming fittingly in the distance, I get a chance to climb into the Escape, the latest vehicle in Ford’s lineup to be redesigned in fitting with the One Ford design DNA. Much of the styling is derived from the Ford Kuga, a crossover vehicle sold in European markets since 2008. The new Escape also blends a little Focus into the mix, bringing a family resemblance to the fascia and more kinetic styling to what was previously an angular shuttle which wouldn’t look out of place in Minecraft.
The new escape design also brings in a new engine, foregoing the old 2.5l i4 hybrid and replacing it with a 2.0L ecoboost. Let’s address right off the bat the elephant in the room that is the popularity of the previous engine configuration, particularly amongst people whose livelihood depends on driving a full day and spending as little on gas a possible: Cabbies. Here, as I’m writing this back in the taxi capital of the nation, New York is constantly struggling with ideas of how to make this transport mainstay cleaner and more efficient. Recently, many different vehicles from a handful of brands have assimilated to the fleets, but the Escape Hybrid with its fuel economy of 31 highway/34 city has nearly replaced the aging crown vics as the most visible taxi in the city.
If it ain’t broke, why fix it? For a couple reasons. Building a hybrid is basically designing two different cars and then bolting them on the same frame. We’re still wrestling with our fuel and power needs, and, while I’m not saying that hybrids don’t have their place, it has to be acknowledged that constructing a vehicle with two power plants based on vastly different technologies is complicated, expensive, and still a relatively new concept we’re far from perfecting. Ford hasn’t shunned from any of the popular alternative fuel sources that have cropped up in the last five years, but they’ve invested tons of effort into improving the standard petrol engine in performance and fuel economy, particularly with their Ecoboost technology. FoMoCo stresses that the new Escape, with its 22 city/30 highway fuel economy will come close enough to that of the outgoing hybrid while giving more horsepower (177 hp vs. 240 hp), doing away with the complexity and cost of a hybrid system, a savings that makes its way back to the consumer for both fuel and maintenance.
Myself and a buddy take the Escape for a lap around the bay, crossing through Oakland, with Alameda visible from the bridge (and you can goddamn bet I was looking for nuclear wessels). We’re on the highway cutting trough Berkeley and Richmond, putting the Escape’s 270 lb. ft. of torque to the test. The Escape has no issue merging or overtaking, and on long stretches, cabin noise is well buffered to the droning of the tarmac. The escape’s center console mirrors the Focus interior, making the driving position feel like a cockpit without being too claustrophobic, but not feeling like a loosely bolted bus seat like in large SUVs. There’s space in the back for five passengers, as well as 34.3 cu. ft. of storage behind them for everything you’ll need to…sigh, I have to do this: Escape From L.A. (is that four movie references now?).
The tailgate features a unique and nifty trick: hands-free opening and closing. The Key-bearer of the car simply needs to approach the rear of the car and wave their foot underneath the bumper, allowing the tailgate to swing upward; handy if you have an armful of shopping, luggage, precarious wedding cakes, jugs of moonshine or whatever. The technology is developed to recognize people’s lower legs, so don’t think that an errant soccer ball or cat dashing under the car pops the back open. Ford has stated that the latest video game motion recognizing tech has been used for this feature.
It’s when we cross again over the bay, the buildings behind us fade away, and the green hills of California open in front of us do we really see what the Escape really means to Ford. Wine country and ranches spread across the expanse in front of us make it hard to believe that moments ago we were in a major metropolitan area. Indeed, we feel like we’re in a completely different nation altogether. The Escape rolls through the crisp air of pristine wine country, and few cars pass us by, only a few determined bicyclists eager for an escape of their own. We find sanctuary in the CUV knowing that, if we wanted, we could load it up with friends for a road trip, throw in our own bikes for rides out in remote spots, or even snowboards if we were further up north. Heck, considering where we were, swinging by vineyards and loading up the cargo space with crates of Merlot didn’t sound like a bad idea either.
Our route heading back meant to continue the laid-back ride we were having, but true escapes have elements of drama. We go off route and hit the shoreline cliffs. This particular two-way stretch across the jagged cliffs of San Francisco is the stuff of legend; it’s the windy road of dreams where the sun is high in the air and the sea crashes on the rocks far below. It’s a challenging road to be sure, ideally in a sporty drop-top, but in an escape? Not recommended at high speeds. We do it anyway. The suspension is arranged with a MacPherson strut front and a fully independent multi-link rear. It isn’t ideally set up for nimble coastal bend-thrashing, but there’s an ample amount of stiffness so that there’s not a whole lot of lean to make it feel like I’m navigating a sea vessel. Tilt is low and the CUV is easy to roll through tight bends, up and down hill without any goose bump-inducing nervousness.
That evening, back in the unique urban sprawl of buildings tightly stacked on hills identical to the unmolested landscape we experienced that day, my friend and I hop into a cab on the way to some local nightlife which, surprise surprise, is the hybrid Escape. Cab drivers certainly hear their fair share (or fare’s share) of conversations from the myriad of passengers they have, but I suspect that rarely are they interrogated about the vehicle in their charge as much as the gentleman who shuttled us that night was. He was a talker, which was lucky for us, and told us how much cash stayed in his pocket transitioning from the crown vic to the Hybrid Escape. We asked him if, maybe, a new Escape came out that wasn’t a hybrid, would he consider getting one, to which he replied with a vehement and clear “No. Way.” It seemed futile to go into specifics about Ecoboost in this particular forum.
Cab drivers may not cotton to the 2013 Escape’s radical redesign, but drivers looking for an all-round utility that can convenience their active lifestyle will find the Escape High on their shopping list. The fluid, updated styling, tight handling and cargo space mark high, and an MSRP starting at $23,295 make it a tangible goal for young adventurers. Engine power is sufficient for daily use, but off-road ventures should be limited to just-off road. The Ford Escape isn’t the only vehicle someone can use to break away from the daily grind, but it’s definitely one to inspire you to.
Words & Photos By – Alex Kalogiannis
